From The Depths, I Cry To You
by The Oracle
Summary: Nick and Judy witness a horrific killing, committed by an animal they've never seen before. What follows is an investigation that reveals layers of horror and treachery, exposing a side of Zootopia that no one even dreamed existed. Rated M for gory violence, and language.
1. Chapter 1

_"When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place, where everyone got along and anyone could be anything. Turns out, real life is a little bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life is messy."_

 _"We all have limitations, we all make mistakes, which means - hey, glass half full! - we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be. But we have to try. So no matter what type of animal you are; from the biggest elephant, to our first fox,I implore you - try."_

 _"Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us."_

The words of the now-legendary Judy Hopps rang out over the crowd...not just reaching the ears of every officer and new recruit, but those of a special VIP guest.

This guest was a very well-dressed tiger, with a regal bearing about him. Even if he wasn't a predator, others would have known to be weary of him; not an animal to fuck with, as some of the more lowly born animals would crudely say.

His name was Adrian Khan. His late father was the founder of Khan Pharmaceuticals, which he was now CEO of. Khan Pharmaceuticals had aided in the creation of the antidote to the "Night Howlers" which had caused much havoc and confusion in the city, thus his invitation to this event.

He was happy to help his fellow predators out of the situation, of course...but very few knew of his true intentions with the flowers.

Adrian Khan had a secret...one that he was certain would revolutionize Zootopia, and shake what he saw as a broken city to its very core.

For now, he politely applauded at the optimistic bunny's speech, and quietly made his way through the groups of animals back towards his limousine.

"Pretty...very pretty..." he thought to himself as he stepped into the vehicle. "How nice it must be, to think in such a naive way...how nice, to not be cursed with knowledge..."

Adrian Khan settled back into his seat, and once more disappeared into the streets of the city...

 **SIX MONTHS LATER...**

Officer Nick Wilde settled back into his seat in the car, yawning with a cup of coffee on his lap, as Officer Judy Hopps sat patiently in the driver's seat, not seemingly tired in the slightest, as she stared at the nighttime sky.

"You bunnies..." Nick yawned through his words. "Always so full of energy...do you even sleep at night?"

"Of course..." Judy smirked as she stayed focused. "But not for too long...why else do you think we have so many kids?" she winked at him for a moment, before returning to the stakeout.

It took a moment for the joke to sink in on Nick, but he soon let loose with a laugh as he sat back with his cup. "Ohhh man...I think you've been spending too much time with me, carrots. I'm starting to rub off on you."

Judy just smirked for a moment, as she did her best to look around the area. There wasn't much of note...just the trees, the empty sidewalks, and the fountain that stood near the large facility, with a billboard that read:

KHAN PHARMACEUTICALS

"Bringing healing and hope to Zootopia for over 50 years."

"I still don't know why they wanted us out here." Nick commented as he scratched his head. "These guys have some of the best security around. They're practically their own police force. Heck, their own military..."

"Chief Bogo was a little surprised too when Mr. Khan asked for our help..." Judy spoke through binoculars now. "But whatever it is, I'm guessing it's something this company doesn't want to take a chance on, especially after the break-in a few nights ago..."

"Let me guess..." Nick did his best impression of the stuffy tiger. "That's on a need-to-know basis, and you don't need to know..."

Judy furrowed her brow at Nick. "How'd you know he said that to the chief?"

Nick grinned. "Carrots, you're forgetting what I used to do before I became honest..."

Judy chuckled a bit and nodded, before giving the area a few more glances with her binoculars.

"Well..." she sighed. "It's pretty late right now...if someone was gonna try to break in at this point, they probably would have-"

THUMP!

The blow to the squad car made both officers jump, as each of them reached for their tranquilizers. What they saw, however, was not a shady looking animal, but a well-dressed, and frightened leopard in a white lab coat, knocking on their window quickly.

"Open the door! Open the goddamn door!" he yelled hurriedly.

"Hey, relax! Relax, sir..." Judy put her paws up as she slowly opened the door. "What seems to be the trouble?"

Within a split second, the leopard jumped into the car between the two officers, a look of fright and determination in his eyes. "Drive!" he barked. "Just drive!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute..." Nick objected. "You're not in your fancy lab anymore, pal, so forget about giving us orders..."

The leopard grabbed him by the collar. "If you don't drive right now..." he spoke. "You will die...we will ALL die!"

"Sir, get a hold of yourself!" Judy shouted back at the leopard, reaching for the mace in her pocket...

"You don't understand!" the leopard shouted to her. "It's deadly! It wants to kill me! Get me the hell out of this place!"

Before Judy could ask him what he was talking about, something lunged out at the car's windshield...something big.

It smashed through the glass with a ferociousness not seen in any predator for ages, a large, black, clawed hand reaching for the leopard quickly.

"What the hell!" Nick exclaimed in surprise, as Judy was too shocked to even say anything.

Before the hand could grab the leopard's neck, Nick reacted quickly, pulling a shock stick from his belt, and jamming it into the black, slimy skin, giving it a big enough shock to take out an elephant. It didn't knock whatever this thing was out, but it was strong enough to make it screech in pain, and pull its arm away.

Judy then hit the ignition on the car, and gunned it out of the driveway, going just as fast as she could, with Nick and the leopard, whose name read "Lawrence" on his tag, sitting next to her.

Nick looked out of the car's back, as he saw the mysterious black shape behind them. It seemed to be running...running very fast...unnaturally fast.

"Carrots!" he shouted. "Whatever this thing is, it's gaining on us!"

"I know, I know!" She shouted in return, looking to Lawrence. "I suppose you wouldn't care to enlighten us on the situation? Is this another night howler victim? How did you get it?"

"I'll tell you everything once we get away!" Lawrence answered, defensively. "IF we get away!"

"You're very reassuring..." Nick narrowed one of his eyes at Lawrence.

The figure running behind them stopped for a moment, and held out its large arms...suddenly, two large black tendrils shot out from both of its shoulders, which latched onto the car, keeping it from going anywhere else.

"Oh no! Oh no! Please god no!" Lawrence began to panic.

Nick felt the bump as the large tendrils grabbed the sides of the car. He leaned out to give one of them another shot of his shock stick, but before he could even charge it, the tendrils began to shake the car around, making him drop it.

Judy struggled with the steering wheel, trying to break free of the powerful extra limbs, but it was too late. The tendrils continued to shake and shake the large car, before flipping it upside down like a small toy, as the roof caved in partway from the impact, sending broken glass all over the inside of the car, and onto the pavement.

Both officers were knocked out at the moment, as Lawrence, not wearing a seat belt, was already laying on the damaged roof of the car. He quickly crawled out from underneath, and began to make a break for it, not knowing that the mysterious creature had already placed its target in its sights.

It performed an incredible leap, clear across the scene of carnage it had just created, and landed right in front of the scared leopard, grabbing him by the shirt and lab coat, and lifting him into the air.

Lawrence kicked and flailed uselessly, as two white, glowing eyes peered at him through the mass of black, a horribly large jaw opening up, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and a long, viscous tongue, dripping with god-knew what kind of liquid.

"Lawrence Tessmacher..." a distorted voice spoke through the horrid mouth. "You have blood on your hands! You are a disgrace and a discredit to your wretched society. We intend to make an example of you..."

"Who..." Lawrence choked as he squirmed. "Who in the living hell are you?"

"All you need know is that we are poison to you..." The voice of the beast answered. "You and your ilk are a blight on this world, and we intend to rot you all out from the inside..."

"Freeze!" A voice suddenly called out.

The creature looked up from its impending kill, to see the form of Judy Hopps aiming her gun at it.

"Drop the leopard, and put your paws in the air!" She yelled, as Nick quickly joined her side, both having just crawled out from under the downed car.

"Do not interfere!" The creature barked, as two tendrils suddenly slipped out from its black feet, knocking away their weapons, before returning to the face of the scared lab tech, finishing what it had to say to him.

"We...are Venom..."

With that, it bit down on the Leopard's neck, sending a font of blood flying through the air.

Both officers scrambled for their weapons, as the creature began to munch on the already dead Lawrence, they could both hear the sickening crunching and splattering noises, as the vicious monster continued to eat, its razor sharp, pointed teeth now soaked in blood, as its unnaturally long tongue lapped up whatever it could.

It had just begun to split open the dead animal's chest with a single claw, before it suddenly felt something pierce its thick skin. Judy and Nick had now found their guns, and had just sent a hailstorm of darts into its body.

The creature merely screeched in frustration, dropping the mangled body, and using its own black flesh to push the darts out. It stood its ground, and roared loudly a the two officers, a nightmarish sight, especially now that its form was caked in blood.

Before Nick and Judy could plan the next attack, the creature plunged its clawed hand into the chest cavity of the leopard's corpse, pulling out the heart in another spray of blood. It then hissed, leaving the officers alone, as it turned and leaped away with another incredible jump.

Once the shock of the attack slowly left, Nick took one look at the mangled leopard's body, and immediately began to feel queasy. He walked over to a nearby tree and knelt over, as Judy, ignoring the sight as best she could, wandered to the still-operating radio in the car.

"Headquarters...This is officer Hopps, at Khan Plaza...reporting a homicide...the...the worst homicide I've ever seen..."

The horrid scene of the crime was now barricaded by all manner of police, the remains of the leopard tech covered up as the red and blue lights flashed in the air.

Nick slowly sipped from a cup of water, staring out into space, as Judy rubbed her head and eyes, hoping that this whole experience was just one big nightmare that she would soon awaken from.

"Tell me more about this...thing..." Chief Bogo asked, trying to be as tactful as he could. He had seen what had been done to the late Lawrence Tessmacher, after all. "You said it was black...could it have been a panther?"

"No..." Nick answered. "There's no way a panther could have done what I just saw...not even one on night howlers."

"He's right." Judy nodded. "This goes beyond any crime scene photos I've seen in my time, since the academy...I mean, I've never seen anything like this."

Chief Bogo looked back towards the covered carcass. "Well...that makes two of us."

The chief paced a bit as he saw the remains being loaded carefully onto a stretcher, before looking back at the two shaken officers. "Is there anything else we know...anything we can use..."

Judy thought for a moment, before nodding softly.

"Before it killed Mr. Tessmacher, it spoke to him, saying it was going to make an example of him...it called itself 'Venom'..."

Later that same evening, in a small, unassuming apartment in the middle of town, a series of envelops lay on a dirty table, stacked atop one another. They displayed the familiar logo of Khan Pharmaceuticals.

A soft, male voice could be heard through the darkness, directed towards the same table.

"They will pay...they will all pay...I swear it..."

Not far from the table, a familiar object lay on the kitchen counter...

It was a bloody leopard's heart...


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of keyboard typing filled the room of the ZPD labs, as a familiar form sat near her favorite compute screen once more; performing with the manic productivity only possible from a weasel.

Jenna Jagger pushed up her glasses once more, as she clacked, and observed silently, oblivious to the world around her. A few candy bar wrappers, and a cup of coffee sat at the side of her desk. Cleanliness was never one of her high points, but when it came to quick analysis, no one could touch her.

Chief Bogo walked slowly up behind her. He could have gone home long ago, but given the situation, it felt wrong for him to go to bed tonight, without at least a few answers. When he shared Judy's sentiment that tonight's murder was something he'd never seen before, he meant it.

"Anything yet, Jagger?" he asked the busy weasel.

"Are you kidding me?" she answered in a focused, but slightly frantic voice. "The DNA scanner nearly broke, trying to identify the traces this damn thing left behind. It's fucking unprecedented!" She took a swig of her coffee, before returning to her work.

Bogo sighed, rubbing his brow. "I was afraid of that. Argh, 26 years on the force, and I thought I'd seen everything. Especially after the Bellwether affair.."

"Ohhh yeah..." Jenna nodded as she clacked away. "That compound was one hell of a tough nut to crack. If Khan hadn't stepped in to help out with their techs, I'd probably still be here, trying to figure it all out."

"Yeah...yeah..." Bogo's brain lit up at the mention of Khan pharmaceuticals. They seemed unusually keen on getting a look at the night howler compound, but at the time, he figured they just wanted an edge in the PR department...give the other companies, Lilith, Fischler, a run for their money. He was deep in thought, now, as Jenna looked up at him.

"Look, I don't think I'm gonna have anything solid before tomorrow. You go home and get some rest. You know I'll email anything important." She was still typing as she spoke, taking another sip.

Bogo sighed again, and nodded. "You're a lifesaver, Jagger." He smiled softly. "Just don't pull an all-niter again. I need you sharp for tomorrow."

Jenna just nodded, working away as Bogo finally left. She typed, and typed, until she suddenly froze after what seemed like an eternity later. She pushed up her glasses, and narrowed her eyes, taking a good look at one of the data readings on the screen.

"No...No fucking way..."

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 **Judy Hopp's Apartment**

Judy sat in her room, looking blankly at her mother's face on the phone.

"My god..." she spoke to her daughter. "It must have been terrible to see..."

"I did my best not to look at the aftermath." She paused for a moment. "And Nick...he's a tough guy, but this made him literally sick to his stomach."

"I can imagine" Bonnie Hopps spoke, compassionately. "Do you feel like you need a break, after this? You and Nick are always welcome over here..."

Judy shook her head. "I appreciate the thought, but this is something I can't leave alone, and I don't think Nick can either."

"No way..." Nick answered, sitting on a chair nearby. Neither him or Judy wanted to be alone after tonight, so they had both returned to her place. "I doubt I'll be able to sleep again, until I can get some answers."

"Well..." Mrs Hopps answered. "You know where to find us, if you change your minds..."

"Thanks, Mom..." Judy smiled, before the two said their goodbyes.

Judy put her phone down, and collapsed onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling. She wanted to sleep just as much as Nick, but like him, her brain couldn't stop running.

"Why are we still alive?" she wondered aloud.

"Come again?" Nick yawned as he slumped in his chair.

"It could have killed us too..." she shivered a bit at the thought. "But it didn't...why?"

"Well, it can't just be because we're cops...I doubt it has much of a moral compass, seeing what it did earlier..." Nick narrowed his eyes a bit.

"But still..." Judy answered. "It spared us...anyone on night howlers wouldn't have spared a single animal. It doesn't make any sense..."

"The world doesn't have to make sense, carrots..." Nick reclined "Reality's messy, just like you said..."

Judy nodded silently, as the two drifted off in their separate spaces...

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 **The Next Day...**

Chief Bogo had given both officer Hopps and Wilde the day off, to recover, psychologically. He was still a bit shaken himself, but he was still tough enough to preserve the veneer of a calm and composed officer.

He looked up from the analysis that Jenna Jagger had given him, and furrowed his brow slightly. "Are you sure about this?"

Jenna nodded. "Yes sir. On a hunch, I compared the chemical signature our friend left behind, to the active ingredient in the night howler flower...they're practically identical."

Bogo's jaw dropped just a little as he closed the window to his emails. "You're telling me that this murdering animal nobody's ever seen before came from a flower?" He blinked in disbelief a few times as well.

Jenna crossed her arms. "It's not definite. I can only tell you what our limited resources are telling me. There's something very strange going on here, and the night howlers seem to be at the center of it all." She tapped her chin a bit in thought. "The only other techs in this town who could possibly be able to enlighten us any further would be the ones at-"

"Khan Pharmaceuticals..." Bogo finished her sentence for her, as he slowly got out his phone. "You're right, Jenna. Something very odd is going on in this city...and these damned flowers aren't the only thing it seems to be centered around."

Jenna watched as he dialed a number on the touchscreen, and waited.

"Adrian Khan's office..." A secretary answered on the other end.

"Is Mr. Khan in at the moment?" The chief politely asked.

"No, sir..." she replied. "Mr. Khan left the building about an hour ago."

"At this time of the day?" He wondered in his head, before going back to the call.

"Do you know where he went?"

"No sir, he wouldn't say..." the secretary replied once more.

"Thank you..." he answered, before hanging up the phone.

"I'll go run a few more tests. I'll tell you if I find anything else..." Jenna spoke, before finally leaving the chief's office.

Bogo nodded silently, watching her leave the room as he tapped the desk in thought. He never fully trusted Adrian Khan, from day one. He seemed approachable enough on the outside, but inside...he couldn't put his finger on it, but it almost seemed like he was burying the same unreasoning hatred for other animals that he had seen in so many hardened criminals from over the years.

"What in God's name are you up to, Adrian..." he wondered to himself...

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 **Zootopia Correctional Facility**

Dawn Bellwether sat in a single room, where a guard had recently placed her. She had been told she had a visitor, but had no idea who it was. Most of her friends had either turned their backs on her, or had been arrested with her, for her plot to turn prey against predators in the city.

The guard, a large rhino, stood silently outside of the room, until a familiar shape walked up and handed a wad of dollar bills to the guard.

"Leave us..." the visitor told the rhino. The rhino silently took the money, nodded, and walked away.

Dawn looked on suspiciously, as the form of a tiger in a business suit stepped through the door, closing and locking it behind him.

"Adrian Khan..." she narrowed her gaze at him. "Come to rub my nose in my defeat?"

"Oh no..." Khan answered, calmly. "You haven't lost yet...like my father always said, you've never really lost until you've died..." He pulled up a chair and sat across from her on the table.

"Still the same pompous asshole of a pred, I see..." Bellwether sneered. "Just like my former boss..."

"Ah yes...that idiot, Lionheart." Khan smirked. "He tried so hard to crack your little code, but he was too stupid, and sloppy in his attempt." The smile then vanished from his muzzle. "I sniffed you out as the culprit from the moment it all started..."

"Then why didn't you sick your goons on me before I got your idiot friend pulled from office?" Bellwether smirked in return.

"Because I wanted you to THINK that you would win...at least for a while..." The tiger rose and began to circle the seated, cuffed form of the ex-mayor. "Nothing's more satisfying than seeing a fool riding high, before she's finally cut down to size..."

He then moved his head closer, trying to intimidate her further. "I knew you'd slip up, because you're just as sloppy as Lionheart...so sloppy, that all it took was an upstart cop, and a fox, to bring you here."

"And now that I'm here?" She looked up at him, not at all intimidated. "Now that I can't hurt you and your meat-eating friends anymore? What do you want with me?"

"Oh, I just came to pass along some news..." he crossed back to the other side of the table. "See, the antidote for your night howler compound was just the beginning of my research. I've found out some...interesting things about your little flowers, that you never even knew were possible..."

"Oh yeah? What?" Bellwether quirked her brow.

Khan rolled up his right sleeve, showing his arm off to the sheep. The fur suddenly began to be covered by a viscous fluid, red and black in color. Bellwether froze, her eyes opening wide, as a series of small tendrils rose and flicked at the air, as the tiger grinned to her.

"Let's just say, when it comes to their potential to change the world...you merely scratched the surface..." He then leaned closer, and gave her a chilling death-grin.

"You've finally lost, Dawn..."

With that, an ear-piercing screech filled the room, followed by Dawn Bellwether's shouts of anguish, as blood suddenly spattered on the walls, and onto the small window into the room.

With that, a series of guards, led by the same rhino from before, rushed into the room, kicking the door down with guns drawn. They looked to see the shredded corpse of Dawn Bellwether laying on the floor, with a homemade shiv at her side. Khan was at the other side, cradling what appeared to be a sliced right arm.

"I had no choice!" He blurted. "She came right at me! You know how she felt about predators!"

The guards, all knowing what an important animal Khan was, rushed to help him to his feet, as others quickly gathered the remains of the slaughtered sheep. He was helped out of the room, calmly assuring the guards that the medical staff at his own facility could take care of him.

He left the scene of chaos, making sure he was alone, before finally allowing his arm to heal up, the wound slowly closing, with the help of the same black and red liquid.

"There can be no peace without war..." He thought to himself, as he walked back to his limo. "No order, without chaos..." He stepped in, letting it drive away from the prison.

"No calm...without carnage..."

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 **Nighttime: Streets of Central Zootopia**

The form of a female otter roamed the night-lit street. In her arms, she clutched a bag, containing what seemed to be a folder, and several data discs.

She scanned the area cautiously as she walked. She regarded everything, every animal, as a potential spy. It wasn't easy to steal from Khan Pharmaceuticals, but she had managed it, with a lot of patience, and planning.

She saw someone suspicious in the distance, and not taking any chances, slipped through an alley, hoping to lose the animal.

Instead, the frightening figure of Venom himself, landed in front of the otter, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"Dr. Tara Stone!" The distorted voice growled to her. "Did you really think you could slip away from us? Didn't you hear of what we did to your friend, Tessmacher?"

"I know! I know all about it!" She protested, frightened. "That's why I want to help you!"

"Help?" Venom sneered. "You've done enough to us already!"

"See this bag?" She showed him what she carried. "This has all the data the ZPD needs to bring Khan down."

"Bring him down?" Venom hissed. "Do you know how many cops and guards he's most likely paid to look the other way? The only way Khan will go down, is if WE reach him, and add his heart to our collection!"

"You have to let me try!" Tara protested, squirming. "Believe me...I was never in favor of what they did...please...for HER sake...let me try..." Tears now began to form in her eyes, as she struggled against the large hand.

Maybe it was the tears, or maybe it was the sincerity in her voice...

Either way, it was enough to make the creature release his grip on the otter.

"Thank you..." she stroked his arm a bit.

"Hurry to the police..." Venom spoke softly now. "Don't make us regret sparing you..."

As he watched her leave, it began to rain a bit. Venom kept to the shadows, as a conversation began in his head.

 _"Why did you let her live? She's betrayed already. Who's to say she won't betray us as well?"_

"Call it animal intuition...I could sense her feelings...I think she's on the level..."

 _"I hope you are correct. I am still new to sensing what you creatures sense...but for now I shall trust your so-called "intuition"._

With that, the dark figure turned, and walked away.

 _"Just don't forget our purpose...never forget what they did to us..."_

"There's not a second goes by, that I don't forget..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Khan Labs (Classified Research Wing.)**

The doors to the holding cell opened, steam leaving the room inside, as the form of a nude lioness stepped onto the cold floor, oblivious to the cold sensations in her feet.

Dr. Kristana Holden, Never the most personable of physicians, or lab techs, stared blankly ahead, as she stopped to let an assistant cover her nude body in a robe. She only turned her head when her boss, Mr. Khan himself, stepped up to her.

"We take it the bonding process was a success?" The tiger enquired.

"Yes sir..." she answered, coldly. "We believe fear is a major factor in why some of our bonding experiments have failed in the past. We have no fear of evolution, so we had no problem in coming together for a common interest."

"We are glad to hear it..." Khan smiled just a little, walking to a chair nearby. Next to it was a blood bag, which he nonchalantly picked up, and emptied partially into a cup, before walking back with the cup to Dr. Holden.

"Here..." he offered it. "You'll be needing your full strength, soon..."

Without a moment of hesitation or disgust, the lioness took the cup of blood, and sipped.

"Not surprisingly..." Khan began, sitting the chair now. "There are those who are beginning to fear and doubt our vision for the world. One such individual has now surrendered herself to ZPD custody, carrying some vital information with her."

Dr. Holden scowled just a little, gazing over at Khan with a now empty cup. "Dr. Stone..." she growled. "We always knew she'd get cold feet..."

"We've felt the same, since recent events have played out the way they have." He then rose from his chair, and passed the lioness some street clothes. "Unfortunately, she has forced our hand, and we will have to come out into the open. We hope you have no fear of walking into ZPD headquarters, and silencing our old friend, along with anyone who attempts to stop you?

Dr. Holden shook her head. "Dr Stone is traitor to our race, and our organization. It will be our pleasure to feast on her bloody corpse

"Good." Khan smiled warmly. "By the way, have you selected a name for your new associate?"

The lioness nodded. "We are Siren..."

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 **ZPD Headquarters**

"A researcher from Khan?" Judy asked Chief Bogo with wide eyes, as Nick Wilde walked in next to her.

"That's correct, officer." Bogo nodded. "She came in here late last night, and asked to be given a cell in this building."

"Wait, she wanted to be locked up?" Nick scratched his head as he walked with his partner and the chief.

"She's scared shitless, officer..." Bogo boldly responded. "...and I for one don't blame her. Once you see and hear what she has to say, you won't either."

"This is all so wild..." Judy shook her head in disbelief. "First this creature kills a Khan employee, and now another Khan employee is here to air out some dirty laundry."

"Brace yourself, officers..." The chief spoke as he led them down into the row of holding cells. "The story only gets more bizarre from here."

He unlocked the door to Dr. Stone's cell, as Nick and Judy looked in to see the otter sitting on the bench inside, trying in vain to distract herself, by reading a book that Clawhauser had given to her earlier.

"Dr Stone..." Judy stepped forward, extending a paw. "I'm officer Judy Hopps, and this is Officer Nick Wilde. We were posted at Khan plaza on the night of the murder."

The otter nodded, shaking the rabbit's paw. "Dr. Tara Stone. Pleased to meet the big heroes of the ZPD. I just wish it were under better circumstances."

"Yeah, and I hear you know a little something about these circumstances..." Nick interjected. "Would you mind giving us a rundown?" He looked around the empty cell. "If you're not too busy, that is..."

Judy elbowed him, as Dr. Stone laughed a bit. "No, not at all. As I was telling your chief,it's actually a relief to get all of this off my-"

"Chief!" An officer yelled to Bogo from nearby.

"Another time, Henson..." Bogo shot back. "I'm busy right now."

"I think you need to hear this, chief!" Henson replied. "Word came out from the prison...Dawn Bellwether's dead!"

"What?" Bogo's eyes widened, as he quickly ran off to his office. Nick and Judy were about to rush off as well, before Dr. Stone spoke once more.

"It was Adrian!"

They both froze, Nick turning first, and blinking at her.

"Are you serious?"

"It was him, I know it..." The otter nodded, quickly. "He'd wanted to kill her for a long time, after what she pulled. Now that he has the power to do it-"

"Power?" Nick scoffed. "Is he Supermammal all of a sudden?" he asked, referencing the long running Zootopia comic book character.

"Nick, please..." Judy put her paw up, before calmly turning back to Dr. Stone. "I think you'd better slow down, and calmly explain what's going on here. What is the connection between Khan, and the thing that killed Dr. Tessmacher?"

Dr. Stone took a moment to breathe, walking back over to her bench. She quickly got her thoughts together as she sat, and adjusted her glasses, looking right at the two officers now.

"After we created the antidote to the night howler toxin, we studied the flower and its effects further." She opened a book with a few diagrams. "See, the night howler has a unique composition, in that the bulk of the flower isn't actually harmful...the real danger is in this one active chemical, inside a special membrane within the flower..."

She carefully showed the two officers the diagrams, pointing areas out.

"Once the membrane is broken, the chemical is released, causing the 'savage' behavior that the subject exhibits soon after."

Nick was about to ask a question, but Judy motioned to let her continue, knowing she was going somewhere with this explanation.

"A group of us hypothesized that this very chemical might be able to be controlled in some way. We thought maybe, a specially treated strain of this chemical, could be used to enhance an animal's senses, and physical strength, without making them go berserk. So, we tried several different combinations of amino acids and other chemicals with the active ingredient in the night howler, and then, something unexpected happened."

"What?" Judy asked, curiously.

"One of these new mixtures became sentient." Dr. Stone answered. "We had inadvertently created a new life form. One that requires a living animal host to survive outside of controlled conditions."

"A host?" Nick furrowed his brow. "You mean, like a parasite."

"Not exactly." Dr. Stone rose from her bench, and walked as she explained. "See, we call these new creatures 'symbiotes'. They take very little in the way of vital functions from animals. As a matter of fact, they offer the host heightened abilities, just as we had hoped at first, when it was just a simple chemical. On the downside, they also give the host an incredible boost in hostility and violent tendencies, along with a thirst for animal blood.

"Dear God..." Judy shook her head slowly. "You must have known that these things were too dangerous to exist in this world. Didn't you try to kill them?"

Dr. Stone scoffed. "I'm not sure that these things CAN be killed. Besides, Mr. Khan finds them to be too valuable to his overall vision for Zootopia."

"Vision?" Judy asked.

"Khan thinks that predators are an endangered, and disposable people, and Mayor Bellwether's scheme only burned that opinion into his mind even more. He wants to brings his kind, and only his kind, back to dominance, and he believes that the union between predator and symbiote can make that happen."

"He's insane!" Nick interjected once more. "God knows I've never had it easy as a predator, but I'd never want to go to lengths he's gone, just because of some goddamn grudge."

"One thing still doesn't make sense..." Judy rejoined the conversation. "If Khan Pharmaceuticals created these symbiotes, then why did one of them kill one of his researchers?"

"You mean the one called 'Venom'?" Dr. Stone sighed and sat back down on the bench. "He's not allied with Khan in any way. As a matter of fact, he's the one behind the break-in that prompted Mr. Khan to contact the ZPD..."

"Well, who is he?" Nick finally inquired.

Just as she was ready to explain, something was happening above them...

Benjamin Clawhauser looked up from the front desk, to see the form of a well-dressed lioness walking towards him.

"How can I help you today?" he asked, coming off as chipper as usual.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Holden from Khan Pharmaceuticals..." the Lioness smiled, tapping the ID badge on her suit. "I understand you have one of our own, a Dr. Tara Stone, in one of your holding cells."

"Yes..." Clawhauser nodded, matter-of-factually. "She's there voluntarily."

"Would you mind if I went in and had a word with her?" She smiled.

"Oh, sorry..." He responded. "My orders from Chief Bogo are not to let anyone see her without his permission. If you want me to go speak with him, I can see wh-"

He suddenly felt something large and slimy grabbing his jacket, looking down to see a giant arm covered in green liquid. He shrieked as he looked back up, to see the pleasant face of the lioness replaced with the horrifying, white eyed face of the creature named "Siren".

"Let's make a deal, you miserable excuse for a predator..." Her distorted female voice growled as she flashed her rows of sharp teeth. "You tell us where your chief is hiding that bitch of a traitor, and you won't end up with your intestines wrapped around your neck!" She then showed her clawed hand to the terrified Clawhauser, dancing it along his protruding belly. "What do you say, fat boy?"

Before she could intimidate him further, a bullet whizzed past the cheetah, striking Siren in the shoulder, causing her to screech, as she dropped him.

She looked up to see rows of ZPD officers with guns...not dart guns, but real, killing guns, the kind not seen in ages in Zootopia.

"I don't know who the hell you are..." Chief Bogo called out from the balcony, as Nick and Judy rushed up to join in the fray. "But if you don't leave right now, you're going to find a million more of these bullets in that miserable mound of slime you call a body!"

Clawhauser quickly ran for cover in another room, as Siren just grinned and laughed mockingly at the officers.

"Eyes...lungs...livers...hearts..." She mused. "So many snacks...so little time!"

With that, she quickly jumped onto an officer, not even giving him time to react as she bit down, blood flying from his neck as the other cops opened fire.

Multiple bullets struck Siren as she lurched up from one victim, her viscous skin absorbing the brunt of the shots, as she leaped and took down another officer, ripping into the rhino's large gut, and killing him almost instantly, as more blood sprayed about, staining the floor and walls as she feasted.

"Hopps! Wilde!" Bogo shouted through the fire. "Protect Dr. Stone at all costs!"

The duo quickly nodded, running back to the holding cells, as the chief ran into his office, and opened a drawer. He pulled out a pair of fighting gauntlets, from his old days as a rookie officer, and feared street fighter, and slipped them on, rushing back out and jumping down from the balcony, as the officers held their fire.

He quickly ran over and struck the attacking creature with a single punch, knocking her away from the latest cop she slaughtered.

"Bullets don't seem to hurt you much..." he spoke as he got into a stance. "So let's see how good old fashioned fists work..."

Siren screeched at him, before launching herself, only to be punched again, making her stumble. Any ordinary animal would be on the floor by now, but this creature was anything but. He then moved in, and let loose with a barrage of lefts and rights, the beast blocking and countering as best she could, before being slammed with another right fist, which sent her crashing through a column.

He moved in to grab Siren, only to have her launch tendrils from her arms, which wrapped around his own arms, and pushed firmly against his chest.

"You're a bold one, grass muncher..." Siren Hissed. "But it just stands to reason that you can't kill what can't be killed." She began to squeeze the breath out of his chest as she grinned with her sickly mouth.

"We are immortal, and you are a mere slab of meat..."

She then opened her deadly maw, and moved in for the kill...

Before a large black claw grabbed her by the head, pulling her away, as her hold on the chief broke.

Siren fell back and screeched defensively, as the form of Venom confronted her.

"What's this?" The black creature mused. "A Lackey who thinks she's a goddess..."

"That's Mr. Khan's property you're wearing, thief!" Siren growled back at him. "Either give it back now, or We'll be forced to rip it from your bloody remains!"

"Come and get it, you miserable bitch!" Venom hissed. "We've longed to make you bleed for what you've done...to us, and to her!"

"Her?" Chief Bogo wondered to himself, as the two creatures lunged for one another. Venom quickly grabbed siren by the arm, and punched her multiple times with the other, before grabbing onto her viscous skin with the claws, trying to pull the symbiote from Dr. Holden's body.

Siren returned in kind, grabbing at Venom's chest in return, ripping away his own symbiote, revealing black panther fur underneath, forcing him to kick her away.

As they each healed up, Siren lunged at Venom, clawing and biting at him, as the two crashed through one of the walls in the building together, papers from the file cabinets flying into the air as Venom tossed her off of him, making her knock over more cabinets in her path as she fell.

He then flew through the sea of flying paper, and shot out black, tar-like tendrils from his fingers, wrapping around Siren's form, as her own tendrils tried to fight them, the two locking clawed hands at the same time, the two ferocious creatures staring each other down.

Venom then kicked Siren in the stomach, and leaned in to bite her neck, penetrating the symbiote's slick flesh, as blood began to leak from the furred neck underneath, mixing with the slimy skin, and making its grip loosen on that part of Dr. Holden's body.

Siren quickly fell back, cradling the wound as she hissed one last time at Venom, and fled the scene.

As the situation calmed, Chief Bogo slowly approached the creature, with Nick, Judy, and Dr. Stone in tow, as medics quickly rushed onto the scene to attend to Siren's victims.

"Chief..." Venom suddenly spoke to Bogo.

"Yes?" Bogo tilted his head.

"God didn't come to collect after all...so we had to..."

Venom then turned and ran from the scene, as Chief Bogo was left to think about what he'd said.

"God didn't come to..." his eyes went wide.

"Oh no...no...God no...Eddie..."

"Eddie?" Judy quickly rushed to his side, as he placed a paw over his eyes.

"Eddie Brock..." he moaned. "Former Lt. Eddie Brock, of the ZPD.

That's who it is..."

"That's right, chief..." Dr. Stone nodded. "I was just about to tell them, before the attack..."

"What's this all about?" Nick asked with a stunned face. "I never knew about an Eddie Brock on the force."

"By the time you two joined, he was spending most of his time away from this precinct, to be with his daughter..." Bogo explained.

"Tina Brock." Dr. Stone continued with a sigh. "The poor girl was born with a weak heart, and Eddie was desperate to keep her alive. Mr. Khan and my team approached him, saying our experiments with the symbiotes could save her, so he had her transferred to our care. I created a special strain, one I hoped would work with someone her age, and restrict the violent elements, but..."

She then lowered her head in shame. "It was too much for her. She died, a week into the treatments."

Both Nick and Judy fell silent at the last sentence.

"Eddie resigned shortly after, but what's worse..." Bogo added. "Is that Mr. Khan refused to release the body for him to bury, saying it was biohazard. He was so frustrated, and at the time, I told him, 'Eddie, one day, God is gonna come to collect from these bastards. I guarantee it.'"

"So that's why he broke into Khan plaza..." Judy spoke, solemnly. "He was trying to take Tina's body out..."

"And that's most likely how one of the symbiotes got a hold of him..." Dr. Stone nodded.

The group remained silent for a moment, before Chief Bogo finally spoke.

"Well, now that we have two of these monsters running around, it's clear we're gonna need more than guns and gauntlets to fight them with."

He picked up a phone, and began dialing numbers, calling in favors to various friends and connections, as the rest of the ZPD went about its business in the aftermath...

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

 **Eddie Brock's Apartment**

The panther sat silently in his kitchen, dirty dishes piled at the sink. His wife, Cynthia, left him soon after Tina had died, so housekeeping was not exactly a priority in the Brock household.

He held a photo in his paws. A photo from happier times. In it, he, his wife, and Tina, were all enjoying a trip to an amusement park. Happier days, before Tina's condition worsened, and before Khan approached him with his promise of a miracle cure.

Tears welled up a bit in his eyes, as his friend spoke up from within.

" _You are distressed again. I can feel it."_

"If only you knew...if only you knew the joy I used to get from life."

 _"Can you never obtain it again?"_

"Not unless you can bring my little girl back to life."

 _"...I am sorry, Eddie. Her body was not fully developed. It should not have been given the burden of my form."_

"It's all right. What's done is done. Really, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have met you..."

 _"The night you broke in...the night you discovered me, sleeping inside of her."_

"The night you gave me the power to fight and kill these sons of bitches."

 _"We have allies now..."_

"Yes...thanks to the good doctor. I hope they turn out to be useful."

 _"Just so long as they let us kill Khan..."_

"Oh yes...No matter what happens...his blood is ours to drink..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Khan Plaza**

Dr. Holden coldly ran a sponge along her bloodstained neck and shoulder. The symbiote had healed the wound quickly, but she liked to remain clean whenever she could. The creature couldn't heal her bruised ego, however.

"He caught us off guard..." she calmly explained to Adrian Khan. "We weren't expecting a symbiote tailor-made for a child to be so strong..."

"We gave it a lot of time to seethe..." Khan sipped from a coffee mug full of blood, offering it to the lioness. "We don't imagine being trapped in a corpse to be a pleasant experience. We most likely drove it to the edge of insanity before it was finally picked up by Mr. Brock."

"A vengeful host most likely doesn't help either..." Dr. Holden spoke, taking a moment to sip her blood. "We make no apologies for doing what needed to be done, to further our research, and our cause..." She then stared at Khan. "But this one mistake, if we're not careful, might spell the undoing of all our work..."

"You forget, we have the strength of numbers on our side." Khan sipped from another mug, unshaken. "Just a few of us are worth more than dozens of their officers and weapons. You proved that yourself, just recently."

"Still, Eddie Brock and Venom are a major impediment to our efforts." Dr. Holden held up a fist, as her symbiote's green flesh appeared on it. "We must kill them both, before we can go any further with our plans..."

Khan nodded as he set down his mug, licking his lips. "True...and to that end, myself and Carnage shall finally step forward to assist you. As well as our latest ally..."

The large form of Victor Abrams, a black bear in suit stepped onto the scene, cracking his neck a little. He was another bonding success from a few hours prior.

"We are ready to kill with you..." he spoke in a deep voice. "Myself, and Riot..."

 **Savanna Central: Pride Technologies.**

Judy and Nick walked off the elevator, onto the impressive top floor of the skyscraper. They were soon greeted by the form of a lioness in a suit, flanked by two male lions in suits and sunglasses. Personal bodyguards.

"Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde..." She smiled as she extended a paw. "I'm Kiara Monroe. CEO of Pride Technologies." Kiara had the look of an optimistic young female, but her eyes showed an executive with a good sense of reality at the same time.

"Charmed..." Nick smiled, as Judy chuckled and greeted Kiara as well, shaking paws all around.

"So you know Chief Bogo?" Judy asked, an obvious reference to all the calls the chief had made earlier.

"Actually, I called him." Kiara answered. "We've been waiting for Adrian Khan to finally make his move, and after yesterday's incident, I figured now was the best time to respond."

"Wait..." Judy quirked her brow. "You knew what Khan was up to?"

Kiara nodded as she walked with the officers. "Of course. He approached us with his plan a few weeks ago."

"What?" Nick's eyes widened. "He offered those specimens to you?"

"He saw it as an act of solidarity between predators." Kiara explained. "Once I saw the details, however, I saw it as completely unethical, and refused his offer. He then said that we were weak, lacked vision, and that one day the strong would come to take what was theirs...you can imagine that we've been keeping an eye on Mr. Khan since then."

"Wow..." Judy shook her head. "So he's willing to even kill other predators to get what he wants..."

"He seems sick and crazy enough to do it, especially after what happened yesterday..." Nick added.

"Our sentiments, exactly..." Kiara nodded as she walked into a lab, using her access card to open the doors. The trio were greeted to the sight of a male lion, tirelessly tinkering with a few circuits, looking up and grinning at them.

"What's happening, bro?" Kiara asked with a smile.

"Quite a bit, sis..." He set his tools down, to greet himself to the visitors. "Kion Monroe. Head of R&D."

Nick's eyes quickly got a look at a suit of armor, floating in a large tube. "Whoa..." his childish side lit up at the sight of the new toy. "What is that? It looks so cool..."

"Nick please, this is police business..." Judy scolded, though smiling as she did so.

"Nah, it's OK. It IS pretty cool, actually." Kion grinned.

"It's also our new weapon against the symbiotes." Kiara added. "They're made of a special poly-alloy, polarized at the push of a button to be flexible, but also very tough. Weapons are the result of two possible weaknesses, based on our research."

"You mean, it IS possible to kill these things?" Judy asked, hopefully.

"We hope so." Kiara nodded. "One possibility is high-frequency sound. Just enough may be able to strip the symbiote from its host, and possibly overload its senses. The other is intense heat. If we can't rip the creature off, then we just might be able to melt it off of the host."

Kion then tossed two watch-like devices to the officers. "Here. Transmitters. The suits are actually made up of nanomachines, and this is the control center for them."

"Sweet..." Nick spoke, eagerly toying with all the buttons.

"Uh..." Judy quickly stopped him. "Let's take a moment to figure out what these things do, before we accidentally blow up the building..."

Kiara chuckled. "Good idea..."

Nick Smirked. "Killjoy..."

 **Tundratown**

Staying hidden wasn't a problem for Eddie Brock. A simple gray hoodie, and some jeans, and he could mix in with any crowd. His friend was always inside him, and he could change almost instantly. All he needed was a quiet spot.

Of course, his little friend had a constant hunger, but he found that the occasional fish, and even a few blueberries, seemed to keep the creature happy. It was initially tailored for his daughter, so maybe its bloodlust wasn't quite as heavy as it was with the other symbiotes, he figured.

Eddie chomped away hungrily on a raw fish, careful not to be too noticeable, as he turned a corner into a snowy alleyway, not far from the fishtown market where he got his meal.

It was then, in the snowy distance, that he saw a figure standing, apparently looking right at him.

He walked closer to the motionless figure, throwing away the wrapper for the fish, as his gaze narrowed, getting a good look.

He then frowned, nostrils flaring at the familiar face.

"You've been a thorn in our side long enough, Eddie..." Adrian Khan spoke as he stepped closer, wearing a fancy winter coat, coldly staring at his rival.

"And you'll be one for the rest of our lives, living or dead..." The panther growled.

"Again with your bloody daughter..." Khan sighed. "Is that the limit to your vision?"

Eddie seethed as the tiger spoke.

"It's only natural for the weak to die, and the strong to continue. You could have so many other children, standing next to us, saving this sick world...Of course, we can understand the base instincts behind your actions, that tired old adage of an eye for an eye, a life for a life. But you are so much smarter than that Eddie. You're capable of looking beyond the scope of one small, insignificant speck of life, that was not meant to live long. You were a rising star on the ZPD for god's sake, until you let your child's own weakness get the better of you."

"Shut the hell up!" Eddie barked, "I don't care what you think of us, or what you thought of her! You KILLED our little girl! You lulled us into thinking you could save her. We let you take her away from us, thinking we'd see her again...but we never did!"

"It was our kindness that allowed her to die with dignity!" Khan showed a flash of anger now. "Even if we did save her, would you have wanted her to live in a world like this? One where predators like ourselves become more and more obsolete, to the point where even a fucking sheep can take us down?"

"We don't care about politics!" Eddie roared. "Fuck politics! We were law and order in this city...you are just a psychopath with money to burn!"

"Perhaps...perhaps we are crazy..." Khan narrowed his eyes. "But we would not want to be what passes for sane around here. Not if it means being a slave to the grass eaters, like you!"

The same red and black fluid that only Dawn Bellwether had witnessed soon began to cover his body. Eddie jumped back as he saw this, letting Venom slowly make his appearance now, his body growing in size, as the teeth of the black creature swallowed up his head.

"Let us be kind once more...and end your suffering, so you can join your daughter, rotting on a slab!" Khan growled as his symbiote finally took over.

Venom witnessed it, the appearance of the creature known as Carnage.

Khan's form grew taller, and muscular, as his body was covered in red, with tiger-like black stripes. Numerous tendrils shot and wagged chaotically from his body, as his head was replaced by one that looked vaguely feline, but contained the same rows of deadly, sharp teeth that Venom possessed.

With a deafening screech, Carnage leaped into the air, charging into Venom. Venom was ready, however, and caught the flying symbiote, as the two tumbled onto the open road together, scratching and clawing at one another furiously.

A van carrying more fish drove right into their path, honking its horn. Carnage turned, and grabbed it with a single claw, which grew larger for a moment, flipping the van onto its underside, causing a huge pileup behind him.

Venom took advantage of this opening, and punched Carnage, sending him crashing into one of the downed cars. The black creature then ripped a bumper off of another downed car, and ran over to Carnage, swinging it down towards him.

Carnage grabbed the bumper with a series of tendrils from his arm, yanking it away from Venom. He then charged in and sent Venom flying with a well placed kick to the chest, making him tumble, and crash into another moving van, causing an explosion.

Two polar bears who worked for Mr. Big rushed onto the scene of violence, looking to stop anyone disturbing the peace within the shrew's territory. Carnage quickly took action, grabbing both of them in multiple red and black tendrils, ripping into their flesh as the screamed and dripped with blood. Carnage laughed with glee as his host gave into his murderous instincts, crushing both of their heads like bloody melons in the tendrils as they collapsed in his grasp.

Venom charged back from the wreckage of the van, and sliced Carnage across the face with a well placed claw. Carnage screeched and fell back, blood rushing out from under his face for a moment.

Venom moved in for another slash, before being knocked away by another unseen force.

He turned in midair, and landed on his feet, looking at the form of the enormous gray skinned symbiote now standing before him.

"We'd like you to meet another friend!" Carnage growled in his sickening voice. "Let's tear him to shreds, Riot!"

Riot roared at Venom, holding out his large arms, as the ends of them quickly took the form of giant axes. Venom shot tendrils out from his wrists, trying to grab the new symbiote, only to have Riot slice them to pieces with his axe arms.

Carnage used the 2 on 1 situation to his advantage, sending multiple, sharp edged tendrils towards Venom. Venom jumped and slashed at them with his claws, trying to avoid them and the new symbiote at the same time.

Riot took advantage, and charged in towards Venom, slashing at him with one axe arm, and then the other. Venom managed to avoid one, but was caught in the chest with the other, gasping in pain as blood quickly shot out from the wound, the gash too deep for the symbiote to fix quickly.

Riot then reformed his large, clawed arms, and began to pound Venom mercilessly with them. Venom was stuck in the snow now, as he felt the huge fists slam, and slam, and slam into him, causing more and more pain under his black facade.

Carnage rejoined the fun, as he slipped more tendrils onto Venom's body, penetrating parts of the symbiote itself, as Riot joyfully continued to pound and slam into him with his large fists, before grabbing onto Venom's head as he tried to bite in return.

Carnage was now drawing blood with his penetrating tendrils, as Riot began to rip Venom's head away from Eddie's. The revealed head of the panther roared in frustration, his normally green eyes still all white at the moment.

He used the full power of his symbiote to push both creatures away, creating a bed of spiked tendrils all around him. Venom then reformed himself quickly, and charged at Carnage in a rage once more...only to be stopped by something else...

Riot had taken advantage of the opening, and had completely severed Venom's right arm with one of his axe weapons. Blood now poured freely from the wound, as his black flesh did its best to seal it up.

Weakened, Venom dropped to his knees, clutching the spot where his arm had once been, looking up at Carnage, who laughed as he walked over, lapping up some of the spurting blood with his long tongue.

"Ah...nothing like the sweet taste of failure, Eh Eddie?" Carnage gave the weakened beast a sickening grin. "We commend you for your effort, but you're still weak compared to us. Oh, if only that damned compassionate and caring part of you wasn't stuck to your psyche, dragging you down. Tsk tsk tsk...such a waste."

Venom shook in frustration, wanting to strike once more, but lacking the strength to do so, as Carnage licked his face a few more times, preparing to take a deadly bite, as Riot silently watched.

It was then that something from outside struck Carnage like a truck...

A high pitched wailing sounded in his ears.

Carnage shrieked loudly and grabbed at his head, the symbiote's hold beginning to weaken on his body, as Riot turned to see two figures in gleaming metal armor standing near them, one of them holding out its paw, as the gauntlet of the armor was creating the noise directed at Carnage.

Knowing his boss was in danger, Riot sprung into action, knocking the wounded Venom over, and scooping Carnage into his arms, the symbiote beginning to slip off of Adrian Khan's now unconscious body, as the large gray symbiote ran off with it.

One of the two figures ran off towards the two, as the other spoke up.

"Let them go!" Judy's voice sounded within the other suit, as she ran towards the downed form of Venom. "He's hurt, bad!"

Nick nodded quickly, running over, as the form of Venom slowly vanished back into the now arm-less form of Eddie Brock, the symbiote unable to sustain him now, as blood once more began to flow.

More cop cars rushed onto the scene in Tundratown, as Judy pulled some cloth from her suit's field dressing kit, and used to apply pressure to Eddie's wound.

"Get a goddamned ambulance down here, now!" Nick shouted from under the helmet of his suit.

Eddie was slowly going light headed, as he looked up at the sky, and the snow falling down around him, faintly hearing the shouting, and the yells from Judy to stay with her. In that moment, only one thought crossed his mind.

"We're sorry, Tina...we're so sorry..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Savanna Central Hospital**

Eddie Brock lay unconscious, strapped to all manner of devices and gauges in his hospital bed. He was isolated to a single ward, but he still had visitors, in the form of Nick, Judy, and Chief Bogo.

Nick was watching one particular part of Eddie in interest, as the Venom symbiote was now active, and slowly repairing the arm that the panther had lost in his fight with Carnage. Judy tried not to look, as the mere sight of the black, fluid-like material was a bit nauseating to her.

Chief Bogo had no interest in the symbiote, as his gaze was locked onto the face of the former lieutenant.

Why did it have to come to this, Bogo wondered to himself. Why couldn't Eddie have sought some other course of action, instead of breaking into Khan Plaza, and exposing himself to the thing that was now inside of him.

Jenna Jagger was sitting in a chair nearby, helping to monitor life signs with the doctors, as a buck in a white coat slowly walked in with a tablet, swiping through different readings, as he observed the reconstruction of Eddie's arm.

"Amazing..." the buck commented. "I had no idea that Khan had constructed something so intricately efficient. The cell regeneration readings I'm getting are off the charts."

"He still hasn't regained consciousness, Dr Meadows..." Judy answered. "Do you think there's brain damage."

"It's hard to say at this point..." the buck shook his head as he went through the tablet some more. "The data I'm working with here is severely limited. I mean, this is beyond anything I ever studied at med school, and most of my colleagues will tell you the same..."

"I'm not seeing a significant change in brain activity..." Jenna added from her end. "I'm no doctor, but I'd say he's going to pull through, with the help of our little friend..."

Judy then looked up at the chief. "Does his wife know he's here?"

"I'm making sure as few people as possible know he's here." Bogo responded.

"Why?" Nick shot back. "He's his damned wife! She deserves to know what's going on!"

"Officer Wilde..." Bogo firmed up for a moment. "Cynthia's been through a lot of bad times lately. I don't think she needs this ladled on top of everything else..."

Nick Scowled for a moment, but then nodded slowly, as the form of Kiara Monroe and her brother walked into the room now.

"I see the first field tests for the ASUs were a success." Kiara commented.

"ASUs?" Nick tilted his head.

"Anti-Symbiote Units..." Kion explained as he walked to both Nick and Judy, looking over the watch-like devices they now wore on their wrists.

"Nano-machines at optimum stability...looks good..." he muttered as he checked out each device.

"Can you make it so the suit doesn't ride up the crotch as much as last time?" Nick asked. "I mean, I DO plan on having kids one of these days."

Judy just smiled and shook her head with a chuckle, as Kion laughed a bit. "I'll see what I can do."

Kiara then walked over to the sleeping form of Eddie Brock, and crossed her arms.

"This is Mr. Brock, I take it?" she asked, looking at the slowly regenerating arm.

"Yes, Ms. Monroe." Chief Bogo nodded, walking up next to her.

She gazed over the panther for a moment, and furrowed her brow.

"Do you think it can hear us?"

"Hard to say..." Bogo shrugged his shoulders.

"I hear everything..."the distorted voice of the symbiote suddenly spoke, using the unconscious panther's mouth to speak, though his eyes remained closed.

Everyone jumped a bit at the sudden action, but Kiara stood firm.

"Why do you fight your own kind?" She asked aloud. "Surely, being a new life form, you'd want to stay with your family."

 _"_ They are no family of mine!"Venom hissed. "They left me to rot inside of a corpse. The body of a frightened child. Frightened of being cut off from her progenitors."

"You feel what your host feels?" She asked, intrigued.

"More vividly than you can imagine..." Venom responded. "I not only feel his daughter's fear, even now, but I can feel her father's loneliness and anger. It is the tie that binds us both."

"So you retain pieces of each of your hosts...interesting." Kira tapped her chin a bit.

"You don't need to go on like this..." Judy spoke up, walking over to the bedside. "You tried to take on Khan by yourself, and you nearly died...well, Eddie did anyway." She narrowed her gaze at the sleeping body. "Do you even care about what happens to him?"

"I care very deeply about my host..." Venom indignantly hissed once more. "I cannot even bear the notion of having to find another body, after all we've done...but the drive for vengeance and blood is too strong inside of Eddie. He wants me, and I want him."

"You've turned a respected ZPD officer into a killer!" Judy shot back. "You've made him do sick, horrific things he would have never done before! I don't like the idea of even letting you out of this hospital, just so you can rip someone else into pieces!"

"Those doctors killed first!" Venom barked. "They snuffed out and brushed away an innocent life, like it was nothing more than a turd in the wind! To a young species like mine, it is an affront of the highest order. They deserve to die in the worst ways possible, and if you don't like how we do it, then don't watch!"

Judy held up her wrist, getting ready to activate her suit and attack, until Nick placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Carrots...not now..." He spoke calmly, and motioned to Eddie's sleeping form as he helped her to settle down.

At the same time the conversation was taking place, the familiar form of another lioness was strolling down the hall of the same Hospital.

Dr. Kristana Holden was wearing a black dress and shades, shoes clacking down on the shining floors, as she carried a bouquet of flowers at her side. She was headed for one particular ward, as two ZPD officers stood guard in the same hall.

"Miss..." The one officer, a wolf, stood up. "I'm gonna need to see some ID. This is a restricted area at present."

"Of course..." Dr. Holden nodded, She then reached into her purse, rifling around as the wolf walked closer to her.

All of a sudden, her hand, now covered in symbiote goo, shot back up and grabbed him by the side of the muzzle. The sickening face of Siren covered her own, as she leaned in and took a big bite, sending blood flying all along the walls.

The other officer, a leopard, reached for his radio.

"Alert! Alert! Hostile spotted outside ward! Requesting backu-"

Siren shot out a tendril from her other paw as the mutilated body the wolf fell, cutting off the leopard as it impaled him right through the chest, sending bone and sinew flying out of his back along with the blood.

Nick and Judy quickly sprung into action as they heard the panicked radio call, clicking the buttons on their wrist devices, as millions of tiny nanomachines shot out from all directions, quickly covering their bodies with sturdy metal.

Judy took the lead, reaching out with a paw, and shooting a wave of sonic energy towards Siren. The creature jumped out of its way, as Nick countered with a shot of flame from his own gauntlet, which Judy quickly ducked to avoid. It singed Siren, making her screech and jump away, bursting through a wall and sending bits of masonry flying, as the two officers gave chase.

Doctors and patients alike swerved and ducked, screaming and crying out in terror, as Siren's snarling form slipped and ran through them all, knocking a few orderlies aside as it strategized quickly. She reached for a patient in a wheelchair, hoping to take a hostage, before being met with a slamming sonic beam from Judy's gauntlet, as she slid between the creature's legs and walloped her with the attack.

Siren screeched loudly once more, before knocking the patient over, forcing Nick to catch him, as she quickly reached out with her tendrils to grab another patient, this one on a single crutch. Judy used her smaller stature as an advantage, though, as she jumped on to a wall, and vaulted over the symbiote, giving her another taste of her sonic wave attack.

The beast yowled in pain once more, as Nick ran in and let her have it with blast of his own Sonic waves, before she could secure her grip on the hostage. This only made Siren more desperate, however, as she jumped and burst through the ceiling above her, propelling her into the maternity ward.

Hundreds of baby animals cried and shrieked in terror, as Siren burst her way into the room, looking over each and every one of them with a sickening grin on her face, her tongue sliding nastily along her own muzzle.

"Don't even think about it, you sick bitch!" Nick aimed his gauntlet right at Siren, as Judy leaped onto the scene as well.

"What shall you do?" Siren mockingly asked. "Do you stand by and watch me make a meal of these infants, or do you loose your weapons, and risk either burning them, or destroying their ears?" She cackled and snarled. "Decisions, decisions..."

As the two officers pondered what to do, something happened in the ward they were guarding.

Venom could sense what was going on...the children in danger...in danger of dying, like the child that gave his host such grief...

He could not let this happen...not again...

Chief Bogo jumped as he suddenly saw Eddie rising from bed, grunting and growling, as a familiar black, viscous substance began to cover his body once more.

"Eddie! Eddie don't!" The chief tried in vain to stop him, as the others in the room quickly stood back. It was to no avail though, as Eddie had already awakened, pushing Bogo aside, a look of pure murder now in his eyes, as he let the symbiote consume him once more, the sharp-toothed, menacing maw of Venom covering his head as he let out a long screech of anger.

Siren had very little time to realize what was going on, as Venom ran down the hall, past the bodies, up to the hole in the ceiling, and bounded towards the threatened infants, making the two officers give way as he leaped towards the other symbiote.

He tackled Siren, violently making them crash through one of the windows next to the babies, as Nick and Judy put up energy shields to protect them from the glass.

Venom started by putting the little ones out of harm's way, which he accomplished by launching Siren through another wall, extremely hard. So hard, in fact, that he put her through multiple walls, sending even more bits of building flying through the air, as he launched himself at her once more.

Siren was ready for him now, as she let loose with a barrage of tendrils, only a few managing to grab him, as she moved in with the others, sharpening the ends of each. Venom frantically clawed at each of them, his anger giving him much power, as he roared, moved in, and latched right onto Siren's neck.

The other monster yelped in pain, as Venom began to toss her in his jaws, slamming her against the walls and ceiling, like a large dog with an equally large toy, before Siren was able to catch him with a tendril through the shoulder, causing him to screech as she knocked him away with a backhand.

Siren was equally as mad now, as she jumped in, and leveled Venom with multiple kicks, cracking him across the face multiple times as she spun and flailed with her very strong legs. She then wrapped a tendril from her foot around his neck, and squeezed.

Judy was there to save him, though, as she cocked a mechanism on her gauntlet, and launched a container of a burning chemical, similar to napalm, into Siren's face. She screeched in severe pain as it splashed over her face, making a few of her teeth melt and drop out, as she clutched and clawed at her head, trying to get it off.

Venom took advantage, rushing in and returning the favor from earlier, as he leveled her with a hard punch...and another...and another... a series of body blows and head shots rumbling loudly through the halls, as he sent her flying with one final punch. Her form tumbled and smacked into a corner down the hall hard, making her slump down for a moment.

Nick added to the assault, letting loose with more flame from his gauntlet, herding her down the same hallway, to one room in particular...one with the letters "MRI" on the sign above.

"Get her in there!" he shouted to Judy and Venom.

Judy saw what Nick had in mind, and quickly nodded, as Venom and Siren took a few more swipes at each other, pounding and slamming each other into the walls. He then saw the room Nick pointed out, and realized the plan as well, as he grabbed the now weakened Siren by a tendril from his wrist, and sent her flying into the MRI room.

Judy used her smaller form to her advantage once more, sliding into the room as Venom slammed the door shut and blocked it. Siren quickly tried to claw at Judy, only grazing her a few times, as she landed right onto the control panel for one of the MRI machines. She waited for the right moment, and moved just as Siren tried to grab her with a tendril, making her hit the start buttons instead.

Judy covered her ears quickly, as loud radio waves filled the room. It didn't do much to the rabbit, but Siren soon began to stumble around the room, her form beginning to lose its grip on Dr. Holden.

"Stop! Stop!" She screamed in agony. "It hurts us! Stoooooooop!"

Venom was already far away from the room, having run off to be clear of the noise, as Siren collapsed onto the floor, the symbiote sliding away from Dr. Holden, as it frantically shot around the room, looking for a way out...before it finally collapsed to the floor, and erupted from inside thanks to sensory overload, killing the symbiote once and for all.

Judy ran over and switched off the machine, as Nick cheered through his suit.

"Yes! We got you! Cop killing bitch!" He shouted, as he made his suit vanish with the push of a button.

Judy smiled and walked over to Dr. Holden, waking her up slowly. "Nick, you do the honors..."

"Sure thing, carrots..."Nick grinned as he pulled out the handcuffs. "Kristana Holden, you are under arrest for murder, aiding and abetting a known felon, and destruction of public property, among a glamorous assortment of other charges..."

Dr. Holden looked down in both anger and shame as the two officers brought her to her feet, cuffed. The others, including Kiara Monroe, walked slowly onto the scene. Eddie Brock had vanished from the scene once more, but they were all happy enough with what had been accomplished today.

"You are a disgrace to your kind, and to the circle of life itself..." Kiara addressed the other lioness as they walked past one another. "I hope you live a long and productive life in prison."

"My allies are still out there..." Dr. Holden Sneered. "You haven't won yet, you fucking race traitor..."

Kiara then slapped her across the face and growled. "Get her out of here..."

"With pleasure..." Judy responded...

 **Khan Plaza.**

Adrian Khan strolled the hallways of his empire in a robe now. He looked out the window at the setting sun, as Victor Abrams walked up next to him.

"Still no sign of Dr. Holden." Victor spoke. "We think she may have been apprehended."

Khan nodded slowly. "They've finally found our weaknesses." He sighed. "For the first time, we're somewhat at a loss at what to do. Dr. Holden was a valuable asset, and if she's in police custody, we assume her symbiote has been killed."

"And Venom is still not in our possession..." Victor lamented.

"Fret not..." Khan interjected, as he pulled out his phone, doing a few quick searches. "They're not the only ones who can exploit the weaknesses of others..."

Victor looked on, as Khan calmly looked through the details of one name in particular...

Eddie's estranged wife, Cynthia Brock...


	6. Chapter 6

**Rainforest District**

Cynthia Brock sat silently in the house. Not her home, but that of a Jaguar friend of many years, by the name of Gilda Vega. She was all alone at the moment, which suited her just fine. Gilda was fine company, but after everything that had happened...sometimes solitude was best.

A glass of wine sat in one paw, as her phone sat in the other. Listlessly, she flicked through photos and video clips of happier times...happier times that included Eddie and Tina.

She sighed and took another sip, the alcohol not working as quickly as it used to. She used to drink for fun, but now she did it to forget; and forgetting was becoming increasingly harder.

Losing a child, she thought, was like losing tomorrow...losing all hope to live. She tried to find solace in her husband, but Eddie seemed to become more and more distant as the days passed. It wasn't that he had no emotion, but what he did have, he wanted to keep bottled up. He wanted to stay as "masculine" as possible...even at the cost of the one female who ever meant anything to him.

Cynthia continued to drink and reminisce the day away...until she heard a knock at the door.

Had Gilda forgotten something on her way to work, she wondered?

She slowly made her way to the door, drink in hand, and opened it...her eyes widening just a little at what she saw.

"Hey Cynth..." Eddie Brock waved, looking a bit rough, having just been in a fight and all.

"Eddie..." Cynthia swished her glass a little, not reacting much at all to his presence. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Eddie wanted to tell her everything...in the worst possible way. But there was no way she'd believe him, without him scaring the life out of her, by bringing out his friend.

"I just..." he stammered a bit. "Wanted to check on you...see how you're doing..."

Cynthia sighed, walking back into the house. "Now you're interested?" the slightly drunken bitterness in her voice was palpable. "2 months without so much as a damn phone call, and now you're suddenly concerned for my well being?"

Eddie took a deep breath and followed. "I'm sorry Cynth...I just..." he tried to find the right words, which was something he was never really that good at doing. "It was just really tough for me,"

Cynthia scoffed. "Oh, and you think it's been clear sailing for me?" she took another swig of her wine.

"I didn't mean it that way..." Eddie whined, arms outstretched. "If you'd only just listen-"

"I DID listen, Eddie..." Cynthia shot back. "I listened to you telling me that those bastards at Khan could help Tina...I listened to you say that everything would be all right when they took her away from us at that lab...I even listened to you say after she died that those sons of bitches would pay through the nose, over and over and over again. I listened, and I listened, without so much as a word of comfort for me...and I just got SICK of it!"

Eddie saw her tearing up, but at the same time, her words were cutting him to the bone.

"I was trying to get them to do the right thing! I tried to get her body out of the lab! I wanted to make sure that nobody would go through what we did again! I went to so many lawyers, all of them scared shitless at the prospect of taking on Khan and his cronies, coming home every night with more promises I couldn't deliver on! But you made it all about you, you, you and your goddamn endless mourning! Why does this all have to be about you?"

"Because I gave birth to her, you son of a bitch!" She shot back, even louder now. "I carried her! I nursed her! I comforted her, and now she's gone! You don't know what that feels like for a mother."

It was then that Eddie, overcome with pain, lost control. The form of Venom suddenly overtook him, his large dark form now towering over Cynthia as he retaliated in his distorted voice, forgetting to even speak for himself.

" _SHE WAS_ _ **OUR**_ _DAUGHTER TOO, CYNTHIA!"_

Cynthia screamed, falling to the floor as her wine spilled behind her, eyes wide open in absolute terror, as the symbiote glowered down at her.

After the moment of rage had passed, Venom looked down at himself, his large clawed hands, and at his frightened wife.

For the first time, a single tear formed in Venom's right eye, as he shrunk down, leaving a bewildered Eddie in his wake.

Cynthia watched him crouch down, and begin to sob. She had never seen him cry like this, as he did his best to breathe and control what he said.

"We're sorry...Cynth...We're so sorry...you...you deserved better than this...Tina...deserved better..."

Cynthia slowly rose to her feet, looking him over. "Did I drink too much?" she wondered aloud...

Eddie shook his head as he pulled himself together, still crouching. "We...we broke into the lab...we went to get her body...this...this thing was inside of her...and it attached itself to us..."

Cynthia's mouth opened. "Is that...is that why you look like you've been in a fight?"

Eddie nodded. "Its been helping me...helping me get back at Khan and the others...there are other creatures like it...we've been fighting them."

Cynthia slowly made her way over to Eddie's cowering form, gently placing a paw on his back, as she tried to make sense out of everything she had just seen and heard.

Suddenly, a patch of black goo appeared on his back, and enveloped her paw. She tried to pull back, but it kept hold, as she started to panic.

" _Everything that Eddie and your daughter were..."_ The distorted voice sounded in her head. " _Are still very much a part of me...be still...and feel..."_

Cynthia struggled less and less, as Eddie closed his eyes.

Waves of emotion...joy...sadness...grief...and hope...all flooded into Cynthia's mind at the same time. They were not her emotions, she realized...but the feelings...the experiences...the essences of her husband and late daughter.

She began to breathe heavily, as memories, memories she could recall, but from a different perspective, ran through her mind. Tears once more appeared in her eyes, as the image of herself appeared, through the eyes of Eddie...and Tina...

Then, the symbiote released its grip on her, retreating into his body.

"You see, Cynth..." Eddie opened his eyes. "It has pieces of both of us inside...it can be more than the others...more than just a mindless killer..."

Cynthia couldn't speak at this moment. She simply grabbed him, pulling him into a big hug, the two married panthers sharing a moment of reconciliation.

A single voice then broke the silence.

"Cynthia?"

"In here, Gilda..." Cynthia spoke to the jaguar as she entered.

"I don't know what's going on..." Gilda spoke again. "But I ran into someone who wants to see you..."

Eddie kept his eyes closed, as Cynthia looked up...her jaw dropping.

She had seen this face before...

"We thought you might come here first." Adrian Khan spoke as he walked in behind Gilda. Before she could even say another word, he speared the jaguar through the back with a single tendril.

Cynthia screamed as Eddie quickly sensed his presence, jumping up and pushing her behind him, as Venom took over once more.

"Siren is dead, as you may already know..." Adrian calmly let the symbiote take him over slowly. "So consider what we're about to do as an eye for an eye..."

"We will die before we let you kill her!" Venom hissed.

"Good!" Carnage cackled as he took shape. "Two birds with one stone then!"

Riot then suddenly joined in the action, bursting through the wall of the house in an explosion of rubble, and grabbing Venom from behind.

"We will rip every organ from your body, saving the vitals for last, murderer!" Riot hissed as Venom struggled in his grasp, while Cynthia scrambled to get away, only to wind up with Carnage grabbing her with a tendril.

Venom used one of his own tendrils to find an opening, and stab Riot through his large stomach. Riot screeched as he pulled himself free, shooting out another tendril, and attaching it to the ceiling, swinging over and kicking Carnage with both feet, forcing him to let go of Cynthia.

"Get out of here!" Venom yelled to Cynthia, as she complied, before he returned to fighting the two others. He leaped atop Carnage, and began to pummel him with his large fists, consumed in rage, before Riot grabbed him, and tossed him into the kitchen, sending glass and plates flying and shattering.

Carnage jumped into action now, leaping into Venom and nailing him with a hard jump kick, while countering wild punches with his own. Venom fell back near the counter, as Carnage grabbed him by the back of the head, and repeatedly slammed it into the cupboards above, sending more wood and glass flying.

"I never knew that killing could be so much fun!" Carnage cackled once again, before tossing the prone Venom into Riot's hands once more. The larger symbiote picked venom up, and began to slam him down into the floor once more, before pinning him through the shoulders with his long claws.

Venom screeched and struggled, as Carnage jumped onto him once more.

"Where are your tin can friends now, eh?" Carnage gave him a sickening grin.

Riot looked up, and before he could say anything, a canister of napalm suddenly slammed him in the face, making him fall back and screech loudly.

"Speak of the devil, and she'll appear..." Judy responded, on the scene with Nick, both clad in their ASUs. Nick launched his flamethrower at Carnage, making him jump off of Venom as well.

Venom jumped back onto his feet, and ran to the side of his two rescuers.

"Officer Brock..." Nick nodded to Venom.

"We thank you for the assistance..." Venom responded.

"Monster or no monster..." Judy turned to him "You're still a cop."

Carnage then attempted to shower the trio with a barrage of red tendrils, which Venom countered, creating a single large shield with his own body.

"Where is Cynthia?" Venom asked, impatiently.

"Safe!" Judy responded. "Chief Bogo caught up with her!"

Venom then pushed his entire form into the shield, becoming a giant black wave with a mouth, as he pushed Carnage back, while Judy let loose with a sonic beam attack from her suit. Carnage quickly dove out of the way, jumping onto the ceiling and walls, before launching himself at the offending rabbit, only to have Venom catch him with an uppercut.

"Slippery little bastard..." Nick commented, before seeing Gilda's body. "Dear God, he killed someone else..." he pointed it out as Carnage got back to his feet, a recovering Riot coming back to his side.

Judy glowered under her suit. "This guy's gonna get put away for a VERY long time..." She pounded her gauntlets, charging them for another sonic attack.

Riot quickly responded, leaping into the air, only to be met with a hard punch from Nick's covered hand. He and Venom then quickly double teamed the other symbiote, as Judy finally let loose with a charged sonic beam, smacking right into Riot as Venom jumped away.

Carnage looked on as more cops were running up the hills to the house, and saw that his target, Cynthia Brock, was now safe and sound in a squad car.

He then looked at Riot, who continued to squeal and struggle against the three fighters, and sneered.

"Pathetic!" he growled to his partner, before shooting a single red tendril, and swinging away on it.

"No!" Riot jumped away from the trio, and looked towards Carnage. "You abandon us at your own peril!"

He jumped up after Carnage, only to be met with a hard kick, that sent him back down, and into the waiting hands of the cops, and Venom.

Riot violently fended off a few of the officers, sending them crashing through trees, before Nick leveled him with a powerful fireball from his suit. The symbiote's skin sizzled, as he screeched and flailed, trying to hit something, anything, before he was pelted with another, his skin now beginning to melt and crack from the heat.

Venom took advantage, and jumped atop the larger symbiote, grabbing it by the head. Slowly, but surely, he pulled the symbiote away from its host, piece by piece, tendril by tendril, before separating it from Victor Abrams, who fell to the ground in a heap.

Venom then saw Kion Monroe running onto the scene, carrying a large container of sorts. He tossed to the lion, who expertly caught the mass of goo, and sealed the top electronically, before it had a chance to recover from the fireballs.

Venom then leaped onto Victor's prone body, and picked up his large bear paws.

"What was that you said about saving the vitals for last?"

Victor screamed, as Venom then chomped slowly into the bear's fingers,biting them off one at a time, and sending blood flying all over the trees and ground, as he made his way down the former Riot's hands.

"Stop!" a voice rang out, as Venom looked up, a familiar large figure walking onto the scene.

"That's enough, officer..." Chief Bogo spoke. "Be better than those bastards for once, and let him live..."

Venom growled, thought it over, and then spat out one more bear finger, before leaving the now handless Victor Abrams to the mercy of the paramedics and officers. At least without hands, he couldn't do any harm anymore.

The form of the symbiote shrank down once more, as Eddie stoically walked up to his old commander.

"Chief..." he spoke. "It's been a long time..."

Judy and Nick changed out of their ASUs and walked up to join him.

"I'd say it's nice to have you back..." Bogo started. "But I'm gonna have to take you in for a while, just long enough to get the mayor off my ass, that is."

Eddie shrugged and nodded. "I get it. Politics as usual. At least she's safe..." He nodded over to Cynthia in the car, who acknowledged him with a tearful nod.

"Come on, Officer Brock..." Judy walked with him to a nearby car. "We'll get this sorted out in no time."

Eddie walked with them, not resisting at all. He couldn't put his finger on it, but that moment...that one moment he had with Cynthia, gave him a focus...and tenderness, that he hadn't been able to muster in quite some time.

As all this was happening, Jenna Jagger, who had been keeping an eye on the GPS and other gadgets, got a buzz on her phone. The weasel picked up and saw that she had gotten a text...

ROOK: What's happening with that shipment?"

Jenna looked slightly annoyed, as she texted in return.

MICRO: Keep your shirt on. Slight delays from Sahara Square, is all.

ROOK: Just eager to act. Sounds like shit's going sideways out there.

MICRO: You have no idea, lol.

ROOK: Will you be around tonight?

MICRO: Big goings on at HQ. I'll try, though.

ROOK: Gotcha.

 **Savanna Central**

 **Undisclosed location, underground.**

Guns.

Knives.

Ammo.

Explosives.

All manner of threatening weapons lined the walls of the dark room, part of a home that would have been better suited to a monster of legend, than an animal.

And they belonged to, of all things, a male bunny.

This bunny, like Judy Hopps, had expressed an interest in justice for years...but he applied to the force before the mammal inclusion initiative had been introduced, and was laughed out of the building.

Like officer Hopps, he didn't know when to quit...but unlike her, he had a very different idea of justice.

"I knew Khan was bad news from the beginning." He thought to himself, as he put down the phone he had just used. "Making big speeches, big promises, about trying to make the world a better place...and fucking everything up in the process, as per usual."

He didn't know the first thing about Eddie Brock, but he knew all about what drove him. It was the same thing that had driven him for years. The death and devestation. Scratching and surviving on the streets, any way he could, being beaten up and kicked around...until he grabbed a knife one day, and made his first kill.

That was when they all knew, that this little bunny had some major claws.

The black and white furred specter of the bunny checked on a few of his newly purchased guns, before slapping a mask over his mouth, and spraying paint onto a black vest nearby. Spraying a distinctive shape onto the bulletproof material.

The shape of a skull...


	7. Chapter 7

**ZPD Headquarters**

Eddie Brock munched on the blueberries that Judy brought to him from her farm. He was a bit messy with them, but since he hadn't had a proper meal in some time, he really didn't care about how he looked.

His holding cell accommodations were far from luxurious, but Chief Bogo did his best to make sure that his conditions were at least tolerable, for a former officer going through some rough times.

"Wow. Finished already?" Officer Hopps smirked as she approached the cell.

"They were quite delicious. We thank you." Eddie smirked as he cleaned his maw as best he could.

"Aren't they, though?" Nick Wilde quipped as he entered behind his partner. "Believe me, these bunnies know their quality produce. I mean, I've heard agricultural terms come from this one's mouth that I didn't even know existed." he smirked as he motioned to Judy.

"Doesn't hurt to expand your vocabulary a little...especially yours." Judy shot back at Nick as he chuckled.

Eddie quickly changed gears. "Where's Cynthia?" he eagerly inquired.

"She's safe." Nick put up a reassuring paw. "We got her a hotel room, and 24 hour surveillance, until we've apprehended Khan."

"We've also got a few guards on Victor Abrams and Dr. Holden, in case he tries to silence them as well." Judy added.

"Victor in particular, since, you know...you ate his hands..." Nick did his best not to sound to harsh.

"We remember..." Eddie sighed. "I apologize on behalf of my partner. He's still...figuring out how law and order works."

"Well, it's a good thing he latched onto a cop to show him the way." The Chief answered as he entered the room. "Of course, with the help of his boss..."

"Chief..." The panther nodded to his superior. "How are things going with the Mayor's Office?"

"Not too rosy right now, I'm afraid." Bogo shook his head. "You may have to prepare yourself for a legal shitstorm after all that's happened. Just be thankful they're more concerned with tracking down Adrian Khan at the moment."

"I was afraid of that..." Eddie sighed, looking down at the floor. "At least things are tolerable in here, as long as I keep getting those blueberries." he pointed to Judy as she laughed a bit and nodded.

"Don't get too comfortable." Bogo spoke up. "I talked to Ms Monroe at Pride Tech, and she recommended a lawyer...best one in the business, according to her."

He moved aside for the approaching form of a leopard in a suit. He was noticeably wearing sunglasses, and carrying a cane at his side.

"A blind lawyer?" Judy wondered aloud.

"I'm surprised to hear that from you, officer Hopps..." The leopard grinned. "Didn't you often say that anyone can be anything in Zootopia?"

Judy blushed a bit. "Sorry. I was just surprised is all."

He grinned once more. "No offense taken." he then walked over to Eddie.

"Officer Brock...Matt Murdock, attourney at law". He offered a paw to shake through the bars.

"Murdock..." Eddie blinked a bit. "We've heard about you throughout this precinct..." he quickly returned the gesture. "You have quite a grip as well..."

Matt smiled through his sunglasses. "Well, when you have no sight, you need to focus on the other parts of your body more than others."

"Does that mean you're psychic?" Nick jibed. "Do you know what tomorrow's winning lottery numbers are?"

"I can do without the smartass remarks, please..." Matt smirked. "Watch out for that bottle, by the way..."

Nick had started walking backwards, and froze at the cheetah's words. He looked down to see a soda bottle, likely discarded by Clawhauser, that he almost tripped over. He blinked in disbelief as Judy picked it up.

Murdock stayed focused on the subject at hand. "So, Mr. Brock, you admit that you and your...accomplice, have killed and maimed multiple animals. But, I've reviewed your statements, the case background, and other documents, and I'm convinced we can maybe turn this into a case of justifiable homicides."

"That seems like a tall order, given what's happened." Eddie crossed his arms.

"Well, this is a bit of an unprecedented case, given the fact that you have this 'symbiote' creature inside of you. It's going to take a lot of work on my part, lots of legal bullshit you wouldn't understand, but I'm confident we can put you into a better situation than you have now."

Judy suddenly had a thought, and spoke up. "Under observation of Pride Tech, perhaps? They've been helping us deal with these creatures all along."

Matt crossed his arms, thinking it over. "That's one possibility. Not the only one, though. I'd have to talk things over with Ms. Monroe, but maybe if we-"

"Alert! Alert! All units!" Every officer's radio suddenly resounded with the same panicked message, interrupting the thought process.

Chief Bogo recognized the voice. "What is it, Lansing?"

"Shots fired at Khan Plaza! Shots fired! Unknown aggressors!"

The police had barricaded the headquarters of Khan Pharmaceuticals, which had locked itself up tightly after recent events. Lockpicks, hackers, and negotiators had been trying to convince Adrian Khan to surrender himself, but had heard nothing, until the shots were fired, from inside of the building.

The chief could hear them over the radio as officer Lansing shouted.

"Dear God, it sounds like a war..." he looked to Nick and Judy. "Get over there right now, and back them up!"

The two officers quickly nodded, and ran out to their squad car...

 **Khan Plaza**

 **moments earlier**

"Get every specimen ready for shipment!" Adrian Khan barked.

The tiger was grateful for the tight security system he had paid for his main building, but he knew it wouldn't hold up forever.

Scientists and officers scrambled, pushing trolleys out of multiple lab rooms, each one containing tiny specimen bottles, future symbiotes looking for hosts. Khan had wanted to find more suitable candidates with the loss of Siren and Riot, but he was currently pressed for time, and needed to do it later.

Passageways and service tunnels were wide open at the basement, each one leading to the city's sewer systems. He hoped to load each batch of specimens on special company vehicles, which could fit into, and traverse said systems, into an underground holding facility he had constructed for extreme situations, such as this.

"They have not beaten us..." Khan thought to himself. "They will have to kill us, to defeat us..."

A lab tech ran to his side. "Sir, the first three vans are just about ready to roll out."

"Good." Khan nodded. "Get every last bit of paperwork regarding the Night Howler project out of my office, and any other offices."

The tech nodded, and turned to do his CEO's bidding.

That was when the lights suddenly went out...

"Hey!" Khan yelled, thinking this was an employee. "Not yet, we're not cleaned out!"

A signal flare suddenly hissed to life above Khan, as he winced his eyes, looking up at its holder.

The small, but menacing form of a male rabbit, clad in black padding, glared down at him, the form of a white skull painted messily on his chest.

"Who in the hell are you?" Khan shouted up at him.

The rabbit simply reached into his pocket, and positioned his thumb over a button on a remote.

"Punishment..." he quietly answered, before pushing the button...

 **BOOM!**

Pillars of fire suddenly shot out of the the service tunnels near Khan. He quickly changed into Carnage, and leaped out of the way, as multiple lab techs were caught, flung, and roasted by the blast, carefully placed lumps of C-4 that the rabbit had been able to sneak into the tunnels.

Khan's security officers sprung into action, pulling out guns and firing at the attacker. The smaller bunny was too fast, however, leaping and planting himself on one spot, before pulling an assault rifle from his backpack, and letting loose with a torrent of bullets.

His aim was impeccable, as the bullets ripped through each of his opponents bodies, blood flying as turned and fired at more security, taking them down, as he finished off his first clip. As he reloaded, he could see one officer charging at him with a chair, swinging it down at him. He quickly got down, and kicked at the chair with his strong feet, sending one of the legs into the officer's eye.

Carnage screeched in a rage, and wildly leaped towards the rabbit, swinging madly, trying to hit the smaller target, who jumped and dodged every attempt, before landing and withdrawing a grenade launcher, pumping it, and firing.

Carnage had little time to react, as he was hit the exploding object, screeching loudly as his red and black flesh burned. The rabbit then ran to a discarded bag he had placed, and pulled out a flamethrower, showering the symbiote with flames, causing him to shoot out tendrils, and fly away from the surprise attack.

The rabbit saw an abandoned trolley full of specimens, as he turned and roasted them with the same flamethrower, before running out of fuel. He discarded the weapon, going back to his bag, and reloading his trusty assault rifle. Another officer tried to get the jump on him, only to have him turn and fire, shredding his abdomen as he went down.

Yet another officer jumped the rabbit from behind, trying to choke him out, only to find himself stabbed in the chest by a knife that he kept in his side pocket. He dropped as the bunny Pulled out the knife, and gave him a quick slash across the throat for his troubles, not flinching at all, as the officer's blood hit him.

He then felt a shot of pain, as a handgun bullet suddenly caught his shoulder. He grunted, and turned towards the officer who had fired, and turned his head into bloody meat with a quick shot from his rifle.

The bullet had only grazed the rabbit, as he fought through the pain of his bleeding shoulder, and picked up a bag of grenades he kept nearby, tossing one towards another trolley of specimens, then another, and another, explosions rocking the halls of Khan Plaza.

He was about to pull the pin another grenade, before a regrouping Carnage suddenly tackled him.

"Stop!" Carnage screeched. "Stop killing our children!"

The rabbit grunted as he reached into his pocket. "Oh? You mean like how you killed Eddie's kid!"

He then pulled out a vial of napalm, and managed to toss it, smashing it into Carnage's snarling face.

Carnage screamed in pain, clawing at his face, as the bunny quickly reloaded his assault rifle, and let the monster have it. Bullets ripped through the skin of the symbiote, as his ability to absorb and deflect firearms had greatly diminished, thanks to the intense heat of the fires all around him, and the relentless attacks of the aggressive rabbit.

He dropped to his knees, weakened, as the rabbit walked closer to him, gun cocked and ready to fire, as he took aim.

"Wait! Wait!" Khan felt desperation for the first time in his life, as Carnage's face pulled back to reveal his own.

"I'll give you anything you want! Money! Shares! A new house! Just stop this! Please! Have mercy!"

The rabbit scoffed. "Mercy? Did you show your clients any of that? Your enemies? Your patients?" He shook his head. "You're a long fucking way from mercy, pal. Using animals as playthings, killing kids, while sitting on your throne on the top floor. No. There's no mercy for people like you."

"No! No!" Khan shook his head, his breathing getting heavier as the flames grew around him.

"Time to meet your dad, sonny boy..." The rabbit readied the trigger.

A blast of energy suddenly knocked his gun away from him.

"Freeze!" Judy shouted, Nick standing next to them, both in their ASUs, as Judy held out her right hand.

The rabbit turned, and calmly put up his paws, seemingly unconcerned, as Carnage took advantage, shooting tendrils out towards the rabbit, who jumped out of the way. In the confusion of the situation, Carnage was able to knock over both Judy and Nick, and escape by smashing through a window in the building.

Nick cursed as he got back to his feet. "Goddamnit, we had him!"

Judy quickly looked back over for the attacking rabbit, only to find that he had vanished, taking most of his gear with him.

"Who was that?" Nick asked aloud, changing out of his ASU.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Judy responded. She surveyed the scene, as the officers who had managed to break the locks earlier ran in, along with the Zootopia fire department.

"It looks like an army came through here..." Judy observed. "But there's no sign of anyone other than the one bunny we spotted."

"Wait..." Nick furrowed his brow. "You're saying he did this all by himself? All of this?" he motioned to the devastation that surrounded them.

"I'd say it's unbelievable..." Judy answered. "But lately, we've had quite a bit of unbelievable around here, so I wouldn't rule out the possibility."

Nick nodded slowly. "Well, I guess there's nothing left for Khan here. He's gonna be really desperate now...a lot more violent."

"A lot more liable to slip up, too." Judy added. "Easier to catch that way."

 **Pride Tech**

 **Research wing.**

Kion Monroe typed away at one of his many laptops, examining blueprints for all manner of wondrous gadgets, as he heard a door opening behind him.

He turned to see a familiar face in sunglasses.

"Matt!" he grinned. "How's it going? Haven't seen you in what, a day?"

"You know how I like to stay on top of things." Matt Murdock smiled lightly, before getting down to business.

"Speaking of which, I see you made a couple of new toys for the ZPD. I hope you made sure they don't know about-"

"Oh, yeah, yeah!" Kion put up a paw, before walking over to a desk. "I pride myself not only on my talent, but my discretion..."

Matt waited patiently, as Kion began to pull away layers of dirty laundry under the desk, revealing what looked like a briefcase.

"Have you always been this dirty?" Matt asked with a smirk, his walking stick able to detect the bits of garbage around him.

Kion shrugged. "Hey, makes it easier to hide things." He walked over and handed the briefcase to the cheetah.

"Now try to be more careful with this one." He grinned. "We're not made of money, you know..."

Murdock laughed. "Let your sister worry about finances. You have enough problems with hygiene."

Kion chuckled and waved to Matt as he left, briefcase at his side.

"OK..." The cheetah thought to himself. "Time to find us a perpetrator..."


End file.
